Effects of health poverty alleviation project from the perspective of vulnerability to poverty: evidence from five Chinese prefectures

Abstract

Background The Health Poverty Alleviation Project (HPAP) has received widespread attention as a primary means of preventing poverty caused by illness. However, further evidence is required to confirm the effects of HPAP. Objective This study examines the effectiveness and mechanisms of action of HPAP using data from a special survey conducted in five Chinese prefectures in 2018–2019. Method This study uses a three-step feasible generalised least-squares method to measure the farm households’ vulnerability to poverty. Hierarchical linear regression and propensity score matching were employed to assess the poverty-reduction effects of HPAP. A mediating effects model was used to test how these policies alleviated poverty. Results The mean vulnerability to poverty among farm households was 0.367, with 11.89% experiencing both poverty and vulnerability, particularly in areas of deep poverty. This study has found that HPAP significantly reduces poverty and is more effective in reducing the vulnerability of non-poor farm households than poor farm households. Additionally, the results suggest that improving human capital stock and reducing medical expenditure are the two pathways through which HPAP can alleviate farm households’ vulnerability to poverty. Conclusions This study suggests that the vulnerability to poverty perspective should be incorporated into poverty alleviation policy formulation. HPAP enhances differentiation and precision. Thus, a long-term mechanism of HPAP should be developed.

A study on the factors influencing the vulnerability of women of childbearing age to health poverty in rural western China

“…This study presents findings that demonstrate a noticeable decrease in both the prevalence of poverty and vulnerability to health poverty over a period of time, regardless of the specific poverty threshold used as a benchmark. The decline in both the prevalence of poverty and vulnerability to health poverty observed in this study can be attributed to the implementation of various poverty reduction strategies in China 44 , 45 . Therefore, efforts aimed at alleviating poverty not only reduce extreme poverty but also diminish the likelihood of experiencing poverty due to health-related issues in the future.…”

Does introducing outpatient pooling scheme reduce socioeconomic inequality in healthcare utilization? Evidence from a longitudinal study in China, 2011–2020

“…The introduction of outpatient pooling reduced the patient share of outpatient expenditures, and the benefit packages' magnitude was significantly elevated in recent years. Moreover, over the past decade, the Chinese government has made substantial efforts to enhance healthcare accessibility for the disadvantaged, exemplified by initiatives such as the health poverty alleviation program [47] and the establishment of integrated county healthcare consortia [48]. Given that low-income groups typically exhibit a more sensitive response to price changes [44], it can be inferred that these individuals significantly increased outpatient utilization after the policy change, thereby reducing healthcare disparities compared to their wealthier counterparts.…”